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How many times when you are feeling stressed do you hear someone say ‘just breathe’? If you are like me your automatic response might be ‘I AM breathing!!!’ However, different patterns of breathing can impact you in ways that aren’t always obvious at first! Box Breathing is a tool you can use anytime, anywhere, to lower your stress, connect with your calm, and break the patterns of overwhelm. It is portable, convenient and practical!
Why does breathing help us to calm our body and mind?
When we are stressed we tend to tense up, take shallow breaths, lift our shoulders, tense our muscles slightly, and start the unhelpful thought patterns that disconnect our logical brain from our emotional brain. This can activate the part of our brain that creates a fight or flight response. By slowing our breathing, focusing on deeper breaths, and counting at the same time, we can shift from that automatic pattern of tension and stress and connect with our parasympathetic nervous system. This means that we may reconnect with our logic, and give ourselves time to think of different strategies to help manage the situation. The very fact that we are counting creates a mini-meditation and a break from the whirling thoughts in our mind.
How does Box Breathing work?
Box Breathing is called that because a box shape has 4 sides. (This technique is also known as square breathing, 4-4-4 breathing and other names for that reason!)
The process is that you:
1. Slowly take a deep breath over 4 seconds
2. Hold that breath for 4 seconds
3. Slowly breathe out over 4 seconds
4. Wait for 4 seconds
5. Repeat the process 1 – 3 times
Additional tips
To build your practice of box breathing you might also do one, some or all of these steps:
- Look for a quiet space to sit uninterrupted
- Close your eyes
- Place a hand on your chest to feel the breath rise and fall
- Practice 5 minutes of box-breathing each morning before you start your day
Summary
Box breathing is a tool that can be used to calm yourself down when experiencing moments of stress, anger, frustration or anxiety. It is also a technique that you can practice to enhance moments of calm, building your ability to use it for the times when you might need it. And if you prefer to learn by watching – here is a video of me explaining the technique! Youtube
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